Good Eats on Bedford Park's 204th Street

Da Do Hae Restaurant on 204th Street

Bedford Park's 204th Street west of the Mosholu Parkway is often outshined by its more booming sister commercial strip on the other side of the Mosh in Norwood. 204th Street in Norwood has a ton of different retail and food options...Foodtown, dry cleaners, a pet store, banks, pizza places, Mexican food, and 99 cent stores can all be found there.

However, Bedford Park's 204th Street (between the Grand Concourse and E. Mosholu Parkway S.), which has a heavy Korean presence, has some interesting spots worth checking out. We had an awesome meal recently at Da Do Hae Restaurant, which specializes in Korean BBQ. This is the second time we've eaten there, and it was just as delish as the first. Lou treated himself to the BBQ spareribs (at $23.99 they are pricey for sure, but they are soooo worth it...the meat is so tender and flavorful) and I got adventurous with the Beef Bi Bim Bop ($10.95), which is a rice dish with veggies and beef with a whole fried egg served on top.

My favorite thing about this spot is how nice the servers are. I'm one of those goofy white girls who has no idea (and no desire to learn) how to eat with chopsticks, so I always have to be annoying and request a fork. I've been in places where I can almost feel the servers rolling their eyes at me, but not here. The server was also quite gracious when she brought my dish over asking if I knew how to eat it. I said I had no idea! She expertly cracked the fried egg and mixed everything together for me and added some spicy sauce. We also got the dumplings for an appetizer which are probably my favorite thing on the menu. These are basically little fried pieces of heaven - warning: the portion size on these is HUGE, so definitely just get one for the table. Don't expect anything too fancy at Da Do Hae. There's a Korean specialty store attached to the space, and they offer a lunch buffet that makes the place look a little cafeteria-like. It you have little ones, BYOBS (bring your booster seat)!

On our walk home, we discovered that a new restaurant has set up shop where Rose's Luncheon used to be. Although it's quite sad that Rose's is no longer there, we're really pleased to see the space not sitting vacant. The new place is called El Rinconcito Del Sabor and they have a pretty extensive menu for dining in or take out. I'm particularly excited to try their sandwiches (Cuban, steak, chicken, tuna, ham & cheese, or veggie), which range in price from $3 to $6.

These two dining spots are great options on this little strip. There's also a relatively new wine/liquor store (that's not shady looking!), a serviceable little coffee shop, a decent 99 cent store, and a Korean bodega/fresh veggie spot. Now if only we could bulldoze the C-Town and get a grocery store over there that offers foods and produce that aren't expired...now that would be heaven.

~ErLu